Chuck Berry

DeepdowninLouisiana’crossfromNewOrleans,
waybackupinthewoodsamongtheevergreens.
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode,
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play a guitar just like a ringin’ a bell.

You can’t copyright guitar licks and maybe that’s good, because if you could, Chuck might have hoarded them as he does his Cadillacs. Without The Chuck Berry Riff, we’d lose not just the Beach Boys, but essential elements of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, and Bruce Springsteen — to mention only the most obvious examples. In a way, what was at the center of the first wave of the British Invasion could be described as a Chuck Berry revival.
~Dave Marsh (The Heart of Rock and Soul)

Those seeking classic Berry all in one place now have countless choices, but these are the best: the flawlessly programmed The Great Twenty-Eight (or its slightly retooled update The Definitive Collection), the more in-depth and fully rounded Anthology (reissued in the exact same form as Gold, in 2005), or the hefty Chess Box, which offers the pleasure of side trips into Berry’s lesser-known work, much of it in a blues vein and some of it instrumental.
~Rollingstone.com

Wikipedia:

Released

June 27, 2000

Recorded

May 21, 1955 – December 22, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois
September 28, 1958 in St. Louis, Missouri
February 3, 1972 at the Lanchester Arts Festival, Coventry, England
1973 in New York

The legend, guitarist Chuck Berry, who merged blues, country, gospel, jazz and swing into the phenomenon of rock’n’roll, died on Saturday aged 90, according to Missouri police. We’re not putting together a greatest song list (maybe later…) but we will try to honour the master by finding 11 songs that are too often overlooked.

What is a “buried treasure”, “a hidden gem” or “an underrated gem” ? Well, to me, it’s a great song that seldom (or never) is on the “best-of” lists of the artist, and it could have/should have been.

I am talking about great songs that are often overlooked. We are talking about personal favourites that you wouldn’t rate among the artists top 20 (maybe), but deserve some more praise and recognition than they get.

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